Hydrocarbon-burner



UNITED STA ALFRED KAUFMAN, OF NEW YORK; Y.

HYDROCARBON-BURNER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 1., 1,920,

Application vfiled June 19, 1919. Serial No. 305,215.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALFRED KAUFMAN, a citizenof Germany, but having declared'my intention of becoming a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York borough of Manhattan, in the county and tate of New York, have invented a new and Improved Hydrocarbon Burner, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to hydrocarbon burners and has-special reference to burners for kerosene or the like calculated for the development of an intense heat of a satisfactory and safe nature and with a minimum expenditure of fuel.

Among the objects therefore ofthe invention is to provide a heat generating burner for the combustion of kerosene or the like having. provision for the initial development of heat at a fiame directed laterally from a wick into a space which may be termed a mixing chamber where it is directly mixed with fresh air admitted adjacent to the flame at the wick and from below the wick and with provision for the subsequent further admixture of, the gases and air with conversion of the products of initial combustion and the air to form a perfect hydrocarbon vapor` in the upper portion of a larger chamber whose upper end is guarded by a relatively fine mesh screen or 'reticulated plate through which said vapor passes and above which said vapor is ignited and burns with a blue flame of terrific heat. The most important object therefore of the'invention is to provide a simple, safe, reliable, and economic means for generating a maximum amount of heat from kerosene or similar oils.7 relying especiallyuponthe mixturepf the gases derived directly from the oils, with a much larger amount of oxygen than is ordinarily experienced.

With the foregoing vand other object-siny view the invention consists yin the arrangement and combinationof parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein,

still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying' drawings inmwhich like reference characters designate the saine parts in the severall views, and in which 4 Figure 1 is a vertical sectional viewof a generator embodying my present improvements; and V Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional detail indicating the variation in effect incident to the adjustment of the wick above its normal or best location. f

Referring now more specifically .to the drawings for-an embodiment of my invenis provided with a vertical funnel 15 around which the wick is located and along which the wick is adjusted from time to time as re'- sult of a very slow combustion thereof. Surrounding the wick and at the upper end of the funnel is a collar 16 the upper end of which is spaced above the level ofthe upper end of the funnel, said space being approximately a quarter of an inch in an ordinary size burner or perhaps slightly greater than the thickness of the wick. Without unnecessarily restricting myself to any special means for making these funnel and collar members, I show the funnel as constituting an upper extension from and integral with the bottom portion of the receptacle v10, while the collar 1G is likewise formed as an upward extension of the upper portion of the tank.. .The bottom of the receptacle is,y projectedupward sufficiently far above the plane of the base upon which the device may be 'supported to insure free circulation of air along the bottom of the receptacle `and upward through the funnel. The funnel is provided at any convenient place approximately midway between its top and bottom with a bead or shoulder 17 forming a seat or support for a sheet metal neck structure 18 of tubular form and having abottom 19 extending inward and slightly upward from the shoulder 17 and having a large central opening 20 through which the air admitted? through the bottom ofthe funnel is allowed to pass with comparative freedom, the movement of the air being lateral as well as upward through side openings 2 1 formed between thebottom member 19 and a fiat baffle plate 22 supported above the central opening 20. Among the purposes of the baille plate 22 arranged in the center of the neck structure are the following: first, to spread the air admitted from beneathl so that it Acomes into intimate contact with the gas in a relatively thin sheet in the form of a hollow cylinder as it sweeps upward along the inner surface of the perforated portion of the neck; secondly, to establish a better mixing of the air and gas immediately which takes vplace vin part directly within the neck, and thirdly to keep the neck structure from overheating. Sincethe cold aii is deflected laterally so as to sweep along the neck structure it is obvious that the air being admitted cool will serve to subtract the heat from the neck structure, but incidentally doing so the air itselfvbecomessomewhat` warm and so enhances `the thorough mixing vwith the gas.

l lies upon the upper edge of the neck 18 and yconstitutes a slight restriction of the opening from the neck.. The side walls as well as the bottom outside of the flange 26 are solid orimperforate all the way up to a beadedand flaring edge 2'? which constitutes' a holder for a fine mesh screen or reticulated member' 28.

lVith they construction made substantiallyv in accordancewith the foregoing specific description itsr manner of use and operation may be briefly described as follows 2^ lTo start the generator the wick 12 is adjusted upward until it' projects sufficiently far above the upper edge yof the collar 16 for the application of a match thereto which obviously ignites the oil conveyed by capillarity to the upper end of the wick forming outside in this preliminary combustion a yellowish flame which would produce, ex`

cept rfor the baffle 25, a smoke while vthe wick remains turned above the edge of the.

vcollar as for instance'in Fig.'2. As soon as the flame is extended into a complete circle around the upper edge of the wick thewick is turnedl down to a position substantially as shownyin Fig. 1 well below of the-collar y16 at which time the volume of the'lameand amount of Aoil is vmaterially reduced lfrom the stage of preliminary com y bustion as wouldapply to Fig. 2. The heat,

gases, and. other products of combustion from thewick burnedy as indicated in Fig. 1L

thel upper edge i throughl the funnel 15. This mixture of air and products of combustion from the wick becomes further mixed with additional fresh air passing inward through the uppermost portion of the holes 23 or the uppermost two rows as shown, or the upper kportion of;

the holes ifthey are arranged other than in horizontal rows, is drawn inward into the mixing chamber by virtue vof the draft caused by the upward flowlof` all the mixture through the dome. This air admitted through the uppermost holes 28 inpassing over the llame at the wick and through the metalheated thereby is warmed whereby the mixing thereof with the other airand products of combustion is facilitated within the dome. After this mixture of air in large quantities with the products of combustion from-the. wick has taken place in yand throughou-tthe dome it passes as a thor-- oughly` converted i hydrocarbon vapor through the small perforations of the plate 28 and above which it is ignited by the use of a match or the like subsequent to the ignij tion of the flame atthe wick. `There is no generation of soot, smoke, or other deposit tending to blacken or clog any part of the mechanism. The flame at the top of the plate 28 burns perfectly blue and with a most intense heat due to the perfect mixingy with the air and the large amount of oxygen introduced into the mixture. By reason of the fact that the wick does not proj ectabovc the collar 16 and does not burn with a yellow flame its life is materially extended beyond that of a similar wick burned as it usuallyv is in an ordinary kerosene burner.

Consequently the adjustment ofthe wick is,V

resorted to only at long intervals. When the fire is to be extinguished the wick is simplyturned down far enough below the position shown inFig. 1 for it to automatically` extinguish itself. `In this connection I wish to ,point out that even though the Iflame is burned normally at a .very low, elevation just within the upper edge Vof the vcollar 16it is an impossibility for it `to l.befblown out by ones breath or a wind :and'neitheris the flame above, the lplate 28 inclined to be blown'outw" ,f V

Iclaim:

,1., The hereindescribed hydrocarbon burner comprising an initial gas generator, a tubular neck member within-the generator space, a dome extending upward `from'thek point of gas'generation and supported by` saidneck membersaidneck member being iic provided with perforations at different levels, the gas passing inward therethrough at one level and fresh air passing inward at a different level, said dome being imperforate along its side walls 'and forming a chamber for the conversion of the products of combustion and air into a perfect hydro carbon vapor, and a reticulated plate carried by the upper end of 'the dome above which said vapor may be ignited and burned with a blue flame and intense heat.

2. The herein described hydrocarbon burner comprising an initial gas generator including an inner perforate wall, a dome leading upward from the place of initial generation to a considerable distance, the dome having an imperforate base including a baille projecting laterally over the place of gas generation and serving to guide a current of fresh air inward through said wall and above the gas, whereby the .mixture of the gas and air takes place within said wall and in the center of the dome, said dome terminating in a reticulated member carried by the upper end of the dome through and above which the vapor formed by complete mixture of the products of combustion and air within the dome may be ignited and burned. a

3. In a hydrocarbon burner, the combination with a receptacle for oil having a funnel for air extending upward therethrough from its bottom, a collar extending upward from the top of the receptacle and surround. ing the upper end of the funnel and extending slightly above the upper end of the funnel, and a wick located in the space between the funnel and collar, of a neck structure carried by the funnel and extending above the same, the upper end of the neck being provided with numerous small lateral holes through the lowermost of which the products of combustion from the wick pass insupport an independent flame and prevent the flame from passing downward into the dome.

4:. In a hydrocarbon burner, the combination with a means for carrying liquid fuel and including a vertically arranged funnel for the free upward passage of fresh air, gas generating means associated with the upper end of the funnel, a neck structure supported upon the funnel and extending above the generating means, said neck structure being provided with numerous small openings'through which the gas passes inward tending to strike toward the center of the neck structure, and air baffle means within the funnel below the generating space and serving to deflect the upward currents of air through the funnel laterally so as to sweep upward along the inner surface of the neck in a hollow cylindrical form to intercept the course of the gas inward as aforesaid'vfor immediate mixing with the gas.

5. A hydrocarbon burner of the nature set forth in claim 4: in which the air baflie means within the funnel comprises a bottom member having a large central opening, a flat baflie member centrally located above said opening, and supporting means between the bottom member and the baffle arranged in spaced relation providing a plurality of large lateral openings through which the air is deflected laterally toward the generator space.

ALFRED KAUFMAN. 

